Par Excellence
by Gasian Gaond
Summary: Akagi's recent troubles weren't caused by unbeatable Abyssals or piles of secretary work, but by the simple matter of choosing a present for her girlfriend Kaga. It caused her so much headache that she didn't realize Hiryuu's outrageous suggestion to her was only meant to be taken as a joke.


A/N: Warning: PWP

For those who don't know yet, allow me to explain a little trivia, every fleet girl basically has several birthdays depending on the headcanon of the player/author. Two of them are generally used: construction start date and launch date. If going with the universe of "Disassembled", for example, construction start date is their birth date. Akagi was launched in April, but her construction start date is on 6th December. Kaga was launched in November, but her construction start date is on 19th July.

This fic is supposed to be released in July, but it got delayed because I was busy and stuff. So...happy belated birthday then, Kaga? I swear I didn't take advantage of it as an excuse to throw this M-rated fic about you and Akagi out of freaking nowhere. Your song is amazingly therapeutic by the way.

Summary: Akagi's recent troubles weren't caused by unbeatable Abyssals or piles of secretary work, but by the simple matter of choosing a present for her girlfriend Kaga. It caused her so much headache that she didn't realize Hiryuu's outrageous suggestion to her was only meant to be taken as a joke.

* * *

 **Par Excellence**

If anyone said to me that knowing a fleet girl since forever meant that I could easily select a birthday gift for her every year, I would immediately strangle that person.

Other than the most strenuous sorties, the most difficult thing that I ever had to do in the naval base was this: picking out the perfect birthday present for Kaga.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, thought my woes were silly.

The others have always found it strange that I could become best friends with one of the coldest, most emotionless fleet girl in the base, let alone date her.

It was all entirely unexpected and, much to my dismay, happened because of this same freaking problem.

It is a tradition in our base to celebrate Christmas by giving presents to the people who are closest to us, and, well, Kaga is my closest friend. To be honest, for me she had always been more than a friend, but I couldn't bring myself to admit it to her. It was a busy month and I didn't really have time to decide for a gift. I felt guiltier because Kaga bought me a birthday present _and_ a Christmas present, despite them taking place in the same month.

So I apologized to her and asked her if there was anything she wanted.

She answered that she only wished for my permission to tell me something.

I said okay.

She said she loves me.

I was still in a daze when she asked me if I felt the same.

And well, it all began from there.

I didn't know how I could manage a relationship with my best friend and partner, but we agreed to make a go of it.

This news was greeted with confusion and comments which were in the same lines of "oh, well, we kind of saw that coming" or "what, really? I thought you're already going out."

In short, they saw us to be romantically involved for some reason.

I never really found out why until it was a few days before Kaga's first birthday after we started dating.

Once again, I didn't know what to buy her.

And it had to be _special_ , damn it, because she's my girlfriend now, for God's sake.

But nothing could help me because she never really shows the slightest bit of interest in _anything_.

"Eh... that's not true, she's passionate about her work... and food... and uh..."

"...Tone-san, are you describing me, or her...?" I gave out a sigh.

Desperate for help, I finally decided to throw away my dignity and ask the opinion of the other fleet girls who often spent time with Kaga. I was aware that every single one of them would look at me funny; I was the one who who should know better, being Kaga's girlfriend and all.

But that wasn't the only reason they looked at me funny.

"Wait, I'm being serious here. You asked me what Kaga-san seems to be interested in. During my long career as her fleet mate and scout... I, uh... I can honestly say that she's interested in the same things as you, Akagi-san. Or more like, what _you_ are interested in. It's you that she always pays attention to," Tone explained.

The rest of the girls that I questioned apparently shared the same belief.

Everyone stared at me like the answer was obvious from the start.

"There isn't much to go on, but, um, I think she likes you, Akagi-san."

"She's very kind. I think I'm on safe ground discussing anything with her, but I evade talking about you with her, Akagi-san. Eh? Why? Because I guess she would shoot me if I say anything wrong about you."

"She always talks about you, always protects your good name. Eh, I don't think I ever heard her talking about anyone else unless I brought it up first..."

"Kaga-san's interest? Easy! Why are you asking me such a simple question? It's you, Akagi-san."

"I...I don't know. The only thing that came up in my mind was you, but...I suppose you're asking for a thing you can buy for her, huh...? Can you buy yourself?"

"...Akagi-san, let me guess. Everyone you asked before me has only given you a single answer."

It got so bad that I decided to stop and reflect on what the heck caused me to be so blind all this time.

It was like everyone knew from a long time ago that Kaga loves me more than anything.

The last person that I asked was Hiryuu, and by that time I was already so tired that when she suggested for us to go out and guzzle drinks all night , I agreed without further ado.

"Oh, sure, she does. You're the only one who didn't know that, because you had no idea how different she was when you weren't around. She also has this weird guilt complex, probably because she left you behind by sinking back then," Hiryuu gave her drink a stir, "Even so, I still think you're the one who understands her better than the rest of us. If anyone could guess at what kind of present that would make her jump around in joy, Akagi-san, it's you."

"I don't have the godlike power to read that mind of hers."

"But you sure have the godlike power to make that walking block of ice fall head over heels for you."

"Everyone keeps answering that she's only interested in me."

"Well, you're not her only interest for sure, but obviously the most _glaring_ ," she told me with a smirk, "That girl never converses much with others. She's one of our best carriers, and I don't think people would notice how grounded she actually is if you're not around. So of course it made an impression in everyone's mind."

"Then what should I do? Her birthday is tomorrow and I still haven't made any progress...!" I groaned, putting my head on the table.

"Well, if she likes you that much, then why not just offer _yourself_ as a present? I think it makes very good sense," she guffawed.

"Why would I offer..."

 _...wait a minute._

 _That's actually a great idea, isn't it?_

Kaga always seemed so hesitant to touch me, although I had told her that I was ready to take our relationship to a further stage. I tried to initiate it with her, but we never did anything more than kissing. I knew she wanted it, and she wanted it _badly_. On one instance when I accidentally touched her panties down there after a particularly heavy make-out session, she was soaking wet. She admitted that she wanted it when I asked, but only said that she was saving our first lovemaking for a "special occasion".

And this was definitely a special occasion.

Hiryuu took a gulp of her drink and went on, "I mean, you're Houshou-san's kid, you're supposed to be good in this thing! Keep her guessing! For example, you can pretend to be her wife for a night, with all that sex in the bath and naked apron fetish. You can use the carriers' dorm baths! I mean, nobody use them anymore, they prefer going to the docks. Oh man, I can't imagine what kind of expression that poker-faced ship would make if you-"

I stood up from my chair so suddenly that Hiryuu looked at me in surprise.

"Thank you for your guidance, Hiryuu-san! I'll see you later!" I put some bills on the table and headed to the door.

"Huh? What? Guidance? But I didn't do anything," she said, bewildered, "Well, okay...? Send my greetings to Kaga-san, Akagi-san!"

I left the bar and dashed back to the dormitory, arranging the plan in my mind along the way.

This would definitely solve my growing concerns, and it'd be easy because Kaga and I were roommates.

This would never fail!

* * *

When her birthday arrived, Kaga was on duty from morning until night. She departed early, so early that nobody aside from her fleet mates even had a chance to say happy birthday to her.

That gave me a lot of time to prepare.

First of all, I would prepare a candlelit dinner for her, the absolute best with tons of bauxite. I would think of how to pay for all that later.

Then I would fill the bathtub with hot water, complete with those bombs with scintillating green tea scent that are all the rage these days.

Next, I used another bath to cleanse myself and wash my hair with milky-tea-scented shampoo (at least I know Kaga likes tea and ice cream). I did get my favorite apron freshly cleaned for her, but I figured that the naked apron thing was too much for me, so I simply wore my kimono with nothing else underneath. This was probably too subtle for Kaga to notice, but it was better than mindlessly gussying up for her so I went with it anyway.

By the time the clock hit 8 p.m. I had finished arranging the bed and ended up feeling more embarrassed than ever.

When she is not out for a mission, that girl always comes to see me at 8 p.m., no matter how busy she is and how crazy things are for her at that moment. She is just a creature of habit.

 _I shouldn't have washed my hair..._ I thought, twirling my long wet locks as I sat on the floor, _I don't have enough time to dry it...but greeting her for her birthday with my hair in a towel is just..._

"Akagi-san? I'm home."

I made a jerk of my head.

She wasn't even a minute late!

"Yes!" I hurriedly called, and nearly slipped when I went to the door and opened it.

The love of my life was there, looking completely disheveled and worn out. Her hair was kinking out in random directions, and her signature side ponytail now resembled a small bird's nest. Kaga is a reliable ship, so the fleet frequently needs her power in difficult sorties that require the strength of a carrier. She's always slogging her guts out and is constantly under the gun, often literal guns. Almost every time that happens, she comes home looking like this, and her expression ranges from disgruntled to "I-just-really-want-to-hug-Akagi-san-and-cry".

Although it didn't seem like she just returned from the docks, today was one of those days. And definitely one that was particularly gusty and unfriendly to fleet girls.

"Akagi-" it appeared that she almost immediately threw herself into my arms, but then she noticed my appearance and frowned.

"You...washed your hair this late? How rare..." she remarked, "And..."

A slight rosy hue appeared on her cheeks and she looked away from me. "...why are you...dressed like that...?"

She could tell just from a brief glance.

That was amazing and unexpected, but it was perfect for me.

I already knew that with Kaga, I had to advance slowly.

Slowly and steadily.

I took a step closer to her and reached to her chest protector with my hands.

"Happy birthday, Kaga-san," I leaned to her and muttered really close to her ear, "I've prepared dinner and bath for you..."

I really enjoyed how wide her eyes were and how red her face became when I swiftly took the protector off and dropped it on the floor. Her reaction was plainly visible even under the dim lighting that I had prepared to support the atmosphere, and I secretly congratulated myself for that.

But it isn't Kaga if she doesn't ruin good moods just by uttering a few words.

"I smell curry. You made curry?"

I blinked. "Yes, I did."

"Without gulping down the ingredients? How?"

A nerve twitched on my head.

"How rude. Well guess what, I _can_ make something without eating the ingredients."

"Frankly, that's nothing short of a miracle."

Kaga gave a confused look at my annoyed expression. This girl could be so _dense_ sometimes, but she seemed innocently surprised that I made her dinner like that.

"I...I suppose that was impolite, sorry," she stammered, "And you've gone through the trouble of making it for me..."

Seeing her lowering her head like that, as is what she usually does when she has feelings of guilt about something, brought a small smile to my face.

"It's okay. If it weren't for you, Kaga-san, I won't be able to make something like this," I said cheerfully, "Now let's eat, shall we?"

As I turned away from her and moved toward our table, I let out a small sigh. With Kaga being tired and all, I guessed she wasn't ready to accept my real present tonight.

However, the way she gazed at me just now showed hints of curiosity, as if she already knew that I was hiding her main prize.

But how could we go there if Kaga would keep causing the mood to backpeda-

"Akagi-san..."

Out of the blue she circled her arms around my waist from behind in an unexpectedly tight hug.

It stopped my feet in surprise and colored my cheeks with a bright blush.

"Ka-Kaga-san...?" I stuttered before she exhaled and rubbed her forehead against my shoulder.

"Thank you... Thank you so much... I'm so happy..." she muttered to me, "...I can't... I'm not good with emotions like this... I'm feeling so much... and I don't know how to express it..."

This problem had been plaguing Kaga for so long that everyone had the tendency to misunderstand her.

But I know Kaga is the kindest, tenderest person that I have ever met.

She always said something like "I still find it amazing that Akagi-san likes me" and it hurts me when she thinks so lowly of herself.

 _I love you, Kaga-san..._

 _Much, much more than you are willing to believe..._

 _And I'm going to prove it to you..._

I turned my back to face her and realized that she was making the most flustered expression I had ever seen... at least for Kaga's standards.

She was looking to the side, actively avoiding my gaze while her face and ears turned scarlet. She fidgeted when I drew closer, and I saw the split second when her eyes betrayed her to fall on my breasts, which were pushing firmly against hers. I was getting a little turned on myself. That little bead of sweat that rolled down her neck looked so appetizing, and she always smelt good without really trying. Kaga's sharp and stunning beauty was pretty much unrivaled by anyone in my mind.

Her voice was quivering when she mumbled to me, "It's...it's not just bath and dinner...isn't it...?"

I tried to make myself sounded as breathy and hot as possible as I replied to her nape, "Have a guess..."

A tiny moan slipped out of her mouth, her hands curling around my hips.

It seemed like I had successfully laid the groundwork. I swallowed hard and decided to go further.

"Kaga-san... I'm all yours..." I whispered to her, our noses nearly touching, "Please... don't hesitate anymore... Anything you want...I..."

She didn't wait for me to finish.

I was silenced by her velvety lips as she squeezed me around the waist, crushing me against her body while ignoring my gasp of surprise. She probably thought it was just my arousal, and she wasn't entirely wrong, because cries of pleasure were exactly what gushed out of my mouth next. She accepted them all with her lips, her fingers worming her way underneath my cloth as I desperately wrapped my arms around her neck. I had kissed her many times before, but damn...she's just so good at it. Leave it to Kaga to completely turn my feet into jelly with a single kiss.

My knees almost buckled when we finally separated and I held on to her, gulping for air. The yearning to both touch and be touched by her was overwhelming, and I wasn't sure I could stop myself from relieving it right then and there. But no matter how excited I was, I couldn't force Kaga to do something that she didn't want to do. I love her too much for that.

"Kaga-san.." I said breathlessly, realizing that we were still right in front of the door, "I'm sorry... You must be tired and hungry...but I'm really...really..."

"Bed," was all that came out of her mouth before she kissed me again and locked the front door without looking.

I was so grateful that I had gotten the bed ready beforehand. We stumbled our way there under the lack of light, kissing hungrily and clumsily getting each other's clothes off before hitting the mattress. I lied on top of her and surged forward, too absorbed in this intense lust to notice that we were still half-naked, but she was no different, eagerly welcoming me into her embrace and connecting our lips again as soon as she was able to. I couldn't wait, I wanted to be one with her, and my skin longed to make as much contact with hers as possible. I was overcome by desire; my digits tripped over her smooth chest and I felt her shudder in my mouth. Her pink tongue traced my bottom lip, begging for entrance, and I obliged with a low sigh. My hand moved on its own and removed her blue hairband before becoming entangled in her lovely tresses. Kaga didn't seem to be aware of it; she was too busy tasting and probing my mouth with barely controllable passion, and those satisfied moans she was making sent a strange sensation to my center. Our kisses soon became more and more ravenous. I tried my hardest to control myself; Kaga's pleasure should be my most important concern after all, but the rest of my body was demanding attention for itself. As my groin started craving for more, it got much harder to stay still while straddling over on top of her. I began to focus less on the kiss when I found out I could gratify that desire by grinding against her hips.

Obviously, it didn't escape Kaga's attention.

"You're impatient," she whispered to my full lips.

Before I could reply, she grabbed my shoulders and forced me to fall onto my back on the side. She hovered over me, her pupils blowing wide in want as she realized how hard I was breathing when I saw her ample chest right in front of me. She observed my reaction for a few seconds, and I knew I had utterly lost.

I gave up.

I had never felt this sexually aroused.

I couldn't hold back anymore.

Abandoning all remnants of dignity, I took her hand and led them to my bare breast. Kaga inhaled sharply through her nose, but before she could open her mouth, my other hand was already palming her breast.

"Kaga...san...nnnh..." I sighed as she brushed against my pebbled nipple, "...Please...I can't... Please...please touch me..."

I couldn't think straight, I didn't even know what I was saying, the foggy heaviness of my arousal had taken over my mouth and I could no longer fight back.

Kaga responded accordingly, although she looked like she was losing control herself.

She leaned down and planted more kisses onto my chest, licking and sucking at the supple skin until loud gasps started pouring out of my mouth again. When she squeezed my breasts, I couldn't stop the gut reaction to suck in a breath of air and arch up into the touch, feeling her warm skin against me. She was so gentle with me, and yet she tormented me with the pulsing tension she was building inside my core. Luckily my body language was far from subtle when I was turned on like this. My hands latched on her hips, pushing them down to mine as I ground harder.

Kaga only seemed to think of it as a mild inconvenience. She moved around and locked our hips together tightly, straddling as high up my thigh as she possibly could. My breathy moans filled the room as I felt her intense heat forcefully pressing down to my center. She seemed to really enjoy working her lips on my body; as I dug my fingers into her back, completely distracted by her thigh rubbing hard against my swollen clit, her lips wandered to the pulse point of my neck before sucking on it viciously, earning pleasured cries from my mouth. She continued to ravish my neck and collarbones with wet kisses and bites that would surely leave bruises the day after. And some of them were in places that couldn't possibly be covered up.

This was surely the worst timing to remember that I had an important sortie tomorrow.

"Ka-Kaga-san...don't..."

"Don't...?" she asked, but she didn't stop nipping sharply at my neck.

"...neck...don't..."

"I can't hear you..." she pushed her thigh harder to my groin, covering it with more wetness from my arousal.

That caused me to hiss through my bare teeth as her heat shot straight to my throbbing clit.

Groaning in frustration, I bent my knee and vigorously ground my thigh into Kaga's center. She paused as she moaned in surprise, and I used that chance to slide my hands over her breasts and swirled my tongue around her nipple. She made the sexiest noises as she rolled into my slick thigh, and I was elated that I was the only one who could hear them coming out from her mouth.

"Ah...Akagi-sa...n..." she panted as she bent down and pressed her forehead against mine, causing our wet bangs to brush against each other.

"Kaga-san...I love you..." I told her, my fingers gripping her flared hips, "I feel so blessed that you were born to this world...and that I was given the chance to meet you..."

"I feel the same...Akagi-san," she purred with a soft smile, "You are truly the greatest gift that I have ever received in this world..."

My eyes became watery at those words, but I gulped back the tears and raised my head, tasting the salty sweat on her neck before nibbling hard on that spot, leaving purpling hickeys on her skin. Her thumb massaged my nipple as her lips captured mine again in a deep kiss, causing my body to jerk forward. My breath hitched when I felt her other hand trailing my quivering stomach, sliding lower and lower until it slightly grazed the hair around my groin. While she was working my mouth, my hands unconsciously clutched the bedsheet, and the mere anticipation of it was enough to make molten liquid pool around my center.

She halted her fingertips before they could reach the place where I wanted them most. I whined in frustration, gyrating my hips against her thigh in the hopes of getting more friction for my sensitive nub.

I knew from her expression that she was going to ask for permission, but goddammit I didn't have time for that...!

"Kaga-san...Kaga-san...pleaaaase..." I begged her with hooded eyes as I desperately clawed at her shoulders, "Please...please let me come...I can't...I can't take it anymore...!"

I heard her low, guttural growl when she crashed her lips to my parted mouth and plunged her long, slender fingers deep into my core.

It didn't take too long for her to find my most sensitive spot and started pumping roughly in me, sending my body into spastic twitches.

If only her mouth wasn't muffling my cries, everyone in the dorm would've heard me endlessly screaming her name.

You had to know that being pleasured by an archer's strong fingers was a truly mind-blowing experience.

She was so fast and merciless, her stamina was boundless, and those skilled fingers caused my orgasm to approach quickly and brutally.

The heel of her hand crushed repeatedly into my engorged clit with every thrust she made, electrifying every nerve in my body as my toes curled into the bedsheet.

I twisted my fingers deeply into her back, my wild moans slipping into her throat as she kept hitting the spots that drove me mad with lust.

My thigh, which was still locked between hers, was thrashing against her clit, inducing her erotic gasps as she ground harder against me and our kisses became out of control.

"Hnn...haa...aah...! Aah! Kaga-san...!"

"Mmmh...aah...Akagi-san...!"

"Haa...haa...I'm close...Kaga-san...! A-aah...I'm so close...!"

"Akagi-san...come for me..."

She shoved her fingers deeper inside me, curling and stroking my tightening muscles with escalating speed. I only felt that telltale flutters of an orgasm for half a second before she forcefully pinned me down and her palm firmly rubbed against my painfully sensitive clit. It finally pushed my body over the edge, unleashing massive waves of pleasure that flew through my veins and sending unrestrained cries out of my mouth as I twitched and turned under my lover. Around the same time, I felt her clamping my thigh before roughly burying her head in my shoulder and let out an equally loud, sensual moan that nearly made me come all over again.

My vision was blurry and white when she gave my ear a tender kiss and a whisper.

"Thank you... I love you so much... Akagi-san..."

My consciousness slowly slipped away from me as I was gently clasped into her bosom, and that was how my night ended.

* * *

"It truly is a nice day for a sortie, isn't it, Akagi-san?"

"Mmh-hmm..."

"I think it is, just look at the 3rd Battleship Division, they're even singing with gusto!"

"Mmh-hmm..."

"Of course, they're so strong they can hack it even while singing nursery rhymes."

"Mmh-hmm..."

"What's with you today, Akagi-san...?"

"Nothing, Hiryuu-san...I'm just...tired."

"You should follow Kaga-san's example. I saw her going out with all guns blazing just now! So... I guess the present yesterday was a success, huh...?"

I flushed bright red at her teasing tone. We continued to sail for several seconds when she realized that I wouldn't give her an answer and she turned to face me.

"Oh wow! You're blushing! Don't tell me..."

"It was your idea."

"My idea what?"

"Your idea about the whole present thing!"

"Oh wow! You gave her _sex_? !"

"You're too loud!"

"I was just joking about that!"

"I was out of ideas!"

"I never told you to literally have sex with her! No wonder I heard some screams last night! And those things on your neck are hickeys, aren't they? !"

"Heyy, did somebody just say _sex_? ?"

"No, Kongou-san, it's nothing! !"

"Listen, Kongou-san, last night, Akagi-san and Kaga-san..."

"Hiryuu-san...!"

I tried to clamp her mouth with my hands, which were hard to do because I was holding my bow and sailing on the freaking ocean.

After struggling for some time, we assured Kongou that nothing happened and Hiryuu muttered to me with a grin, "Well, what's important is that she's happy, right?"

I remembered Kaga's wide smile that morning when I repeatedly apologized to her for falling asleep after our lovemaking.

She only kissed my forehead and continued cooking, leaving me confused and flustered in the room.

"...Yeah..." I replied as Hiryuu winked at me and signaled me to prepare my bow, "I think... that's the most important thing."

Because Kaga's happiness is my happiness.

 _I could try my hardest because I know you are always there for me with your tender warmth and loving embrace._

 _I am so glad that we could be reborn again and fight together as fleet girls._

 _"Thank you..."_

 _"I love you so much..."_

 _"Akagi-san..."_

 _I love you so much too..._

 _Kaga-san..._

 _Let's be together forever._


End file.
